From Kumataro Ito’s Illustrations of Nudibranchs from the USS Albatross’ Philippine Expedition (ca. 1908). Source: The Public Domain Review. What’s your vibe? Which nudibranch are you? Which one do you aspire to be?
Shown: Watercolor illustrations by Kumataro Ito, the chief illustrator aboard the USS Albatross as it surveyed the aquatic resources of the seven thousand islands of the Philippines.
This is the issue of Fence that my work appeared in back in 2001 just after I completed my undergraduate coursework. When I showed it to my first poetry teacher, he wouldn’t even look at my poem. He just said the journal wasn’t one he read or took seriously. I felt stupid for thinking my work had merit and that Fence was a credible publication. I didn’t submit work for seven years after that interaction with my teacher. I mostly didn’t write during that period, either. Matt Jasper calls this kind of thing wing clipping. This felt more like ripping my feathers out by their calami.
The issue I was in includes work by Bruce Andrews, Jorie Graham, Cate Marvin, and Adrienne Rich, among others. It’s astounding that anyone could look at the table of contents and respond the way my teacher did. Fence is one of the best literary journals out there. My teacher should have been celebrating me, not diminishing me.
Fence is currently open for submissions. Their reading period closes October 31, 2025.
In a world of ribosomes (poets) crowding the nucleus (poetry establishment), live reeflike as the smooth endoplasmic recticulum on the outskirts of the cell. This is where synthesis happens, and much-needed detoxification.
Shown: Image of a cell I altered so the labels apply to poets and poetry: Establishment Poetry, Barrier, Poets Girdling Establishment Poetry, Reeflike Synthesizing and Detoxifying Poets.
Dana Henry Martin 